Old-believers’ Regional Tradition: the Similarities and the Differences (the History of Old-believers’ Communities in the Saratov Region)

The article is dedicated to the issue of the unity of old-believers’ tradition analyzed in the case study of the communities of various branches existing in the Saratov region in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The paper is focused on specific features of the old- believers’ tradition aimed at preservation, which, however, allows the introduction of some specific local characteristics; the main forms of the existence of Saratov old-believers’ tradition are regarded more closely; the correlation of the notions of “centre” and “periphery” are considered; the unity of old-believers’ tradition in the process of its historical development is revealed.